Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm glad it's going well so far. Enjoy Chapter 2!

"Squeeze…?" I asked her slowly, raising an eyebrow. Micaiah smiled at me sweetly, lifting a slim finger to her lip. "I'm sure this is manageable. Sothe and I can have one tent... Nolan can have the small one to himself. Laura and you could share one, and then Edward and Leonardo can have the last one." Sothe nodded in approval, rolling his eyes.

"Hopefully the kids won't tear the tent down- what's wrong, Aran?"

I had completely frozen up when Micaiah had mentioned Laura and I sharing a tent.

How could they be so casual? They were sharing a tent, which was just fine for them if they wanted to. They knew each other, and claimed to be 'related.' But I haven't seen Laura in years. We've grown. Sharing a room is simply something that wasn't done.

Especially since I hadn't dealt with women since I'd joined the Army! I was used to the thick smell of sweat in the air, the usual crude jokes and deep voices. This was Laura.

Tiny, feminine Laura who had been my best friend in my long-lost childhood.

"N-nothing, commander. There's nothing wrong." I gave him the standard military response, and thankfully he didn't comment on my scramble for words. He simply nodded, crossing his arms and looking off in the distance with a deep scowl.

Micaiah, however, wasn't the type to let it go. Sothe wasn't emotional, Sothe was happy just to let the subject drop if I didn't want to discuss it. But the silver-haired woman once again put a hand on my shoulder, a deeply troubled look on her pale face.

"Aran, you can tell us. We want you to be comfortable and happy here..."

I could feel my face becoming redder by the moment. I managed not to shrug off her hand, though the urge was strong. It wasn't rational how repulsed I was by this kind girl.

"It's… just… er… sharing a tent with Laura might be a little… might be… awkward."

I kept my tone low, hoping Sothe wouldn't overhear. It was already embarrassing enough to admit it to my former enemy, but it would be awful if my new commander knew about my stupid weakness. Still… I couldn't help how I was raised. I just couldn't do it.

Her yellow eyes widened as she understood, and she crossed her arms tenderly over her stomach. "I suppose it was rude of me just to assume… Aran, would you mind terribly if I talked with Sothe for a moment? Edward and Leonardo were eager to talk with you… I believe they are outside their tent, by the tree. You see it? Would you mind too much?"

Of course I minded. Sothe would obviously know about this, now. I glanced at the tall man, and his face was still in the scowl that I was growing used to. Without speaking, I bowed quickly to Micaiah, making my way over to the tree she had pointed out.

It didn't take long to see Edward fencing with shadows underneath the tall tree. His hair was sticking to his forehead with sweat, and he didn't notice my approach until I was nearly upon him. He stuck his sword in the dirt, puffing out his thin chest proudly.

"Hey, Aran! I saw how you were fighting today, you were awesome. You wanna teach me some of your moves?" I paused, considering. I didn't want to hurt the kid, but he was so eager it was hard to deny him. "I don't know how much I could teach you… I use the lance, not the sword." Edward's face immediately slipped into a childish pout. "Aw!"

I chuckled, despite my mood. "Sorry, kid. How about some other time, okay?"

He grinned widely, hauling his sword over his shoulder and flinging dirt everywhere. "Yeah! So… where did you come from? How do you know Laura? What are gonna-"

Edward was interrupted by a long arrow. It whizzed pass his ear, landing exactly beside his bare foot. One millimeter to the left and it would have hit him. Lifting my lance, I glanced around in tense concentration to see where the arrow had come from…

Let me know how this chapter went. Chapter 3 should be out soon! ^^